Guide to Nongovernmental Organizations for the Military

International procurement is also necessary in humanitarian emergencies. Some emergencies wipe
out a country or region’s food stocks, medical facilities, housing and housing materials, and technical
systems, and thus demand a response that will include replacement of or supplements to these goods.
Technology equipment is often procured outside an emergency-affected area, as are advanced medical
equipment, large quantities of immunizations, special vehicles, land-mine removal equipment, and
food. International procurement comes in a variety of forms. For many NGOs, relationships are
established before any specific emergency with local U.S.- or EU-based companies and organizations
that will donate goods for a worthwhile cause or during an emergency. Pharmaceutical and medical
supply companies are excellent examples of private businesses that seek to offload excess inventory
or soon-to-expire material for a good cause. NGOs frequently arrange shipment of such donations
directly to the region of concern, bypassing any HQ-side storage requirements. Other NGOs keep
stockpiles of relief supplies and materials on the HQ-side (in the United States or EU, primarily) that
are ready for deployment, with an established relationship with a shipping forwarder or shipping
consolidator in a nearby port or airport.
Food is a special case. When a country loses the ability to feed parts or all of its population, it does not
always mean that there is a lack of food. Frequently, political problems or economic failure prevent
food from being produced efficiently or from getting to the right places. Food aid, therefore, is often
challenging to deliver because of the political, economic, or social conditions that gave rise to the
malnutrition or hunger problem. Emergency food relief involves tapping external food sources,
paying extra attention to the logistical processes of delivering food, and taking into consideration the
safety of staff members, security of equipment and food stores, potential food and equipment loss,
chaos, and potential failure of mission.
NGOs also have established relationships with the U.S. and European governments and the UN.
Government agencies like USAID, CIDA, ECHO, and DFID manage food commodity systems that allow
for distributing, diverting, or purchasing large quantities of food for specific emergencies. Instead
of stockpiling, these agencies depend on a global capacity shared among agencies and countries to
call on grain and other food reserves on short notice. NGOs coordinate closely with these agencies in
many cases, and often assisting with assessments and recommendations for the amount and types
of material required. NGOs then pick up the ground-level programming within the affected region by
accepting large shipments or coordinating the distribution to field storage or distribution points.
The diagram in figure 15.1 shows a sample procurement process. When an NGO’s management (at
both field and HQ levels) decides that it is poised to respond to a new emergency, it either mobilizing
a team in the region already (often the case) or dispatches a new team altogether. In either case,
there are two simultaneous tracks of operations. For the field staff, relaying information and setting
groundwork for logistical systems are primary duties. For HQ staff, liaising and coordinating with
large government, military, and UN agencies are primary tasks to get large levels of commodities
moving toward the emergency. Whether as a private shipment or large-scale food shipment, the NGO
will receive the goods and move the material into local storage facilities before distribution. At the
same time, NGO field staff members arrange procurement in-country, obtaining all of the supplies,
A Guide to NGOs for the Military n Chapter 15. Logistics 153